Kila of Blue Harbor
by Daine Crow
Summary: Kila wants to be a knight, but she doesn't have the build, or the money! She cannot for certain be put on probation...or refused...but what if she is? Please R&R to tell me if I should continue.
1. Kila of Blue Harbor

"But your Majesty, I don't want to be a flower seller!"

"I know the law says you can be a knight, but you can't!" intoned the training master before Queen Thayet could speak. "You just _don't _have the physical build!"

"I'll work!" argued Kilayla of Blue Harbor, called Kila. She was thirteen years old, and very stubborn. She was indeed of a thin build, having thin shoulders and barely any muscles, being a flower seller. Plus, her mother and father had been very strict to her when she had asked if she could train to use at least a bow and arrow, and when she had asked to be a knight, they had laughed it away. The last time she had asked, a week ago, her parents had been exasperated and said, "Well, if you want to find out for yourself, go ask the King and Queen in person!" Kila had stormed out, and heard them laughing downstairs.

"And plus, I'm sorry, dear, but you barely have the money!" said Thayet. To Kila, she barely sounded sorry at all. But the girl knew that what she said was true. Blue Harbor was not a particularly wealthy fief.

"I'll find it!" she exclaimed.

"Your Majesty, may I talk with you in private?" asked the training master. He and Thayet went into the room behind the Throne Room, and shut the door. Kila knew that the door was magicked to allow no eavesdroppers, so she couldn't do that. She would have to hear the news the hard way. She could not use her turquoise Gift, also.

She sighed and sank all the way to the ground. They couldn't put her on probation like they had Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan, that she knew. But it never hurt to be cautious.

After a long time, the training master and Queen Thayet emerged from the other room. Kila was startled to her feet.

Queen Thayet sighed. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Kilayla," she said in a soft voice. Kila stiffened. "But we are putting you on probation."


	2. Will of Conte

And so it was the first day at the palace for Kila. She had been shown her room in the pages' wing. Her face was blank as she walked toward it. The maid who had showed her it had walked back to her duties and left Kila alone.

Why? she kept asking herself. Didn't they make a law after Kel became a knight against probation for girls?

Her mind worked. She thought it very unfair. She had told them she would work! But no…they hadn't believed her. Anger flooded through her. She allowed herself to make a furious face – to let the anger out a little – but before she could mask it, a door closed behind a teenage boy.

He looked to be about fourteen. Kila was surprised. He was probably a fourth-year page, because not many people dared to become a page after they were ten or eleven years old. He had wavy ebony hair, gray eyes that shone with a silver cast, full lips that were pale, and not very high cheekbones. He looked to be about 5' 4", average for a fourteen-year-old. Kila herself was 5' 2". He was clad in breeches and a regular working shirt.

"Maybe I should leave…" he said in a smooth voice, seeing the look on her face. Kila was petrified. _My first day, and a person a year older than me is already scared of me!_

"No, no!" she said quickly.

"Okay…" he trailed off, uncertain. "By the way, I'm William of Conté. You can call me Will."

"Oh! I'm Kilayla of Blue Harbor! …Kila!"

"Wait! Are you the new girl-page?" asked Will.

"Yes," she answered. She hoped he wouldn't think her bad in some way, because Conté was a noble house from which the king was from. She would have to be careful with Will. He was an heir to the throne, after Prince Roald and his baby son. She would have to be careful with him, because she had heard he wasn't one to joke with.

"Now, I'm just asking, but who's your patron: Alanna the Lioness or Keladry of Mindelan, Protector of the Small?" he asked.

"I believe that I must be like them both; since I cannot be entirely plain like Kel, because I have the Gift. I believe I must use Kel's battle skills and cool head, and the Lioness's magic and her strength and quickness."

"Now, now, you can't have everything!"

"And why not?" Kila raised an eyebrow. She loved being able to raise one eyebrow, even if it made her old friends envious. She caught herself. _They're not my_ old _friends! I'll have them as friends for a good while yet!_

"Tell me…do you believe someone can be perfect?" asked Will. _Apparently he likes asking questions, _Kila thought.

"Of course not!" she answered. "Now, before you ask any more questions" – Will grinned – "I want to ask some of my own."

"Alright."

"Are you a first-year or fourth-year page?"

"That's funny, actually, I'm in my second year of page training."

Kila chuckled. _I'm beginning to like him! _She asked him another question.

And on and on, they asked each other questions, got to know each other, and laughed together. Kila realized she already had a friend at the palace.


	3. Sponsors

But she would soon learn that she wouldn't have many friends.

"I have to go finish unpacking my things," said Will, and left. Kila nodded, and went into her own, small room, connected to an even smaller privy.

She thought the conversation over. She thought it had gone rather well.

Kila went into the privy, dragging her small pack of belongings, tired from the trip, and changed. Her old clothes were caked with a thick coating of road dust. She didn't mind dirt or dust, but she had serious business to do, so she had to be in presentable clothes.

She had to get acquainted with everyone at the palace, especially the pages. She knew that she could not be shy.

After she had completely settled in and started to read, she heard knocking on her door.

"Come in."

In came the training master, Lord Padraig haMinch, a scowl on his face.

"We must get the first-years sponsors," he said in an icy tone. Shaggy heads popped into view, grinning. Kila heard people say things like,

"It's the new girl!"

"She's too thin to be a _page_!"

"You would have thought the girls would have learned their place by now."

Instead of blushing, Kila scowled in defiance. _Let them think what they want,_ she thought grimly. _Soon they'll learn._

She put down her book and walked past the boys into the hall. She was surprised to see a head hanging down, covered with long, curly blond hair. She walked over.

"What's your name?" she asked the girl.

"Elizabeth of Queenscove. Liz."

"Uh huh…Kilayla of Blue Harbor. Kila," replied Kila.

"You're a first-year girl-page too." said Liz. Kila knew it wasn't a question.

So Lord Padraig haMinch paired first-years with older pages. It got down to just Liz and Kila, and a couple of second, third, and fourth-years, including Will. He had not volunteered to sponsor any of the other first-years.

"Elizabeth of Queenscove," read Lord Padraig from his list. There was a silence while the boys silently argued. Finally someone raised their arm hesitantly. The pages all looked over at him.

"Eldonzo shan Kermonot." The name indicated a Bazhir.

"I was just joking!" he exclaimed. Like Kila, instead of blushing, Liz stuck her chin up.

"Kermonot, armory two Sundays for two bells," said Lord Padraig. But the boys were all chuckling.

"I'll sponsor her," said a voice from the back.

"Armen of Stone Mountain."

Kila looked up. Everyone knew about Joren of Stone Mountain, who had been the enemy of Keladry of Mindelan. Liz's expression was blank.

"Kilayla of Blue Harbor." A burst of nervousness shot through Kila.

"I will," said Will immediately. Everyone looked at him with raised eyebrows. Whispers went from page to page. This time Kila blushed.

"William of Conté." Lord Padraig scanned the list. "Everyone has a sponsor. You will report for training tomorrow. Today is the last day of rest."

Without saying anything, Will led Kila through the palace. The girl knew she had a lot to think about.


	4. First Day

"Come on!" shouted Lord Padraig. It was the first day of training. They were on staff practice. After the first five minutes Kila was already tired. "Faster, probationer!"

Kila groaned and tried to work faster, ignoring the looks of her fellow pages. Everyone also knew what Keladry of Mindelan had been called.

"Blue Harbor, you are doing poorly," said the training master. "I want more strength in those strikes! Conté, _block those strikes_!" Will groaned.

The pages had been paired with their sponsors. Kila hoped Armen had no relation to Joren of Stone Mountain. She didn't see Liz.

She felt a sharp pain and yelped. Will had hit her fingers, which held the staff.

"Blue Harbor, get back to work!" yelled Padraig. Kila groaned.

After staff practice, she ended up having a bruised behind, ribs, and collarbone. Her fingers ached. It seemed as if the pain throbbed all through them.

Next was archery. Kila did well.

After that was lance work. Kila did horribly.

And after that was swordplay. Kila did badly.

Finally the noon bell rang, and the pages ran to the mess hall for lunch. Kila was relieved. She would have no more weapons work that day. All that was left was the afternoon classes on mathematics, language arts, and the like. Pages with the Gift would have magical classes.

"What about the people with Wild Magic, or the Sight?" asked Kila.

"They go with the Gifted people," answered Will.

"What about you? Do you have any magic?"

"Wild Magic."

"Oh!" Kila was surprised.

"And you have the Gift, right?"

"Yes."

Mathematics, language arts, and the law and history classes went by. Finally came the magic lessons. Kila looked forward to those with special enthusiasm. She looked forward to learning how to use the magic that her parents had never taught her how to use.

The pages walked into the classroom, and separated into their magical groups. Kila no longer had Will at her side, and she thought that she missed that. _What! _her mind screamed. _You miss him! _ But she could not dismiss the feeling. The class went by slowly. Kila's eyes somehow kept finding their way to Will. She pulled them away, blushing each time. After class, the boy who had sat next to her, Manuel of Malorie's Peak, a fourth-year who was very focused on his studies, said,

"Why did you keep blushing?"

Kila walked past him, making herself appear as if she hadn't heard. But she felt Manuel's gaze follow her. She ran to her room.


	5. Enemies

The next day Kila woke before dawn in her nervousness. It was the second day. Last night, she had studied for hours and done so many pushups that that even now her arms ached. Mostly she was worried about the weapons practice. Yesterday, the only thing that she had been _okay_ at had been archery. Just as she was closing her door, Liz and Will closed their own doors (which were both across the hall from Kila's, to Kila's private content). Without saying a word, they went down to the mess hall, grimly.

As they walked into it, Eldonzo shan Kermonot and Armen of Stone Mountain walked up to them. Kila stiffened.

"Probationer, go fetch me a roll from my room," said Eldonzo, a wicked smirk on his face. Kila winced. Kel's becoming a knight hadn't changed the hazing of first-years. Third and fourth-year pages were allowed to make first-years get them things.

"Don't even start with her, Eldonzo," growled Will. Liz and Kila looked over at him. Kila's heart pounded, even with her trying to quiet it.

"Oh, it's the future king!" taunted Armen. Will scowled.

"Well, perhaps he will be, Mountain Freak!" exclaimed Liz. Armen and Eldonzo's eyes bulged in anger as they both grabbed for Liz.

But an arm snaked out in front of the third-years, knocking them back, with unbelievable force. As Eldonzo and Armen fell, Lord Padraig haMinch's face scowled in front of the first – and second – year pages.

"Armory, two _months_, on sundays, for two bells. You will all be together." Lord Padraig's voice had disgust in it.

Kila felt scared. She tried to wave that feeling away, but it wouldn't go. _If I'm to be a knight, like I've been dreaming all my life, and help the realm, I absolutely _cannot _be scared!_

But she was. Mithros knew what would happen at that armory for two months, on those horrible Sundays, and those even worse bells. Kila knew that all of their weeks would start out with them groaning about their bruises, especially Kila.

"Will?" she said as they sat at the last table in a chunk that had been left untouched.

"Yes?"

"Don't think that I'm not brave because I'm telling you this…"

"You're scared, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

"Don't think bad of me…" Kila lowered her head.

"Of course I won't, silly girl! You know…" his voice lowered a notch in volume. "I'm scared too."

"Then we'll all be scared together," said Liz grimly.


End file.
